First Round Position: 20thBest Picks of last 3 Years:
Mikael Backlund - 1st round 2007
Leland Irving - 1st round 2006
Keith Aulie - 4th round 2007
Greg Nemisz - 1st round 2008
Mitch Wahl - 2nd round 2008
Coming Down the Pipe - The Flames have drafted really well in the first round of the new millenium with only Brent Krahn (who they took at the Saddledome in 2000) and Kris Chucko as potential first round busts. Backlund, Irving (if he ever gets to play) and Nemisz all have shown promise in the past few years. Getting Aulie and John Negrin in the 3rd and 4th rounds of 2007 could turn out to be a couple of great picks down the road on the back end.
Draft Trends - Calgary took 3 straight centreman last year and has drafted 6 middle men in the past 2 years, while only selecting one right winger. The team with the most North Americans has only drafted 4 Europeans in the last 3 years.
Millard: Landon Ferraro - The Flames go for pure skill, and even though he’s undersized, Ferraro can light the lamp and has NHL pedigree, and who knows the man who drafted him in junior could be coaching him in the NHL if Brent Sutter ends up behind the Flames bench. Either way Calgary will be able to keep an eye on him as he plays just up the highway in Red Deer.Flaming: – David Rundblad – Adding another top-notch rearguard might appear to be overkill but it could secure their NHL backend for the foreseeable future. The Swede has good size and 2-way ability and according to a lot of scouts and pundits, might very well be long gone by this point in the draft.
1 comment:
Pelech should really be mentioned as well - 1st round pick in 2005, he's a defenseman in the Regehr mold. Will probably make the team this year
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